Book-binding and machines therefor

ABSTRACT

Separate leaves to be bound together are arranged to provide a book body, the body being supported and the leaves relatively displaced to round the back of the body and to produce a corresponding concave shaping along the front of the body. Adhesive is then applied to the rounded back so as adhesively to secure the separate leaves of the body together. Longitudinal string elements may be secured along opposite sides of the body adjacent to the back to form shoulders which, upon completion of the binding operation, cooperate in retaining the body firmly within a case of the binding.

O Umted States Patent 1191 1111 333mm Card et al. 11 June 19, 1973 [54] BOOK-BINDING AND MACHINES 3,451,082 6/1969 Sarring 11 3 THEREFOR 1212,9211 8/1933 Schramm... 11/5 1,959,656 5/1934 Cahen 11/5 Inventors: George Card, Harpenden; Jo 2,535,433 2/1952 Burls 11/5 Luckins, Caterham; Elles Joseph Tidmarsh, Andover, all of England Assignee: IPC Services Limited, London,

England Filed: May 5, 1971 Appl. No.: 140,449

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 6, 1970 Great Britain 21,919/70 [52] US. Cl. 11/5 [51] Int. Cl. B42c 5/02 [58] Field of Search 11/3, 5, ll, 1 AD [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,292,951 12/1966 Schoenberger ll/5 X Primary Examiner-Lawrence Charles Attorney/Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT Separate leaves to be bound together are arranged to provide a book body, the body being supported and the leaves relatively displaced to round the back of the body and to produce a corresponding concave shaping along the front of the body. Adhesive is then applied to the rounded back so as adhesively to secure the separate leaves of the body together. Longitudinal string elements may be secured along opposite sides of the body adjacent to the back to form shoulders which, upon completion of the binding operation, cooperate in retaining the body firmly within a case of the binding.

13 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 BOOK-BINDING AND MACHINES THEREFOR This invention relates .tobook binding and machines therfor.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a method of book binding which includes the step of arranging separate leaves in a body of book-form for binding, supporting this body of leaves and relatively displacing the leaves so as to round the back of the body and to produce a corresponding concave shaping along the front of the body, then applying adhesive to the rounded back so as adhesively to secure together the separate leaves of the body.

The invention also provides a method of book binding, wherein separate leaves are arranged to form a body of book form, arranging longitudinal elements along opposite sides of the body adjacent the back thereof, adhesively securing the leaves together and securing the longitudinal elements in position to form shoulders at opposite sides of the back of the body, so that, when a case is applied to the book body, the shoulders cooperate in retaining the body in the case.

The longitudinal elements may extend parallel to the long edges of a strip of lining material and may be disposed on the side of the lining material to be affixed to the back of the book body so that, during use, the book body can be firmly retained in the case of the book once this case has been applied.

The invention also comprises a machine for carrying out the method, the machine having means for supporting a book of separate leaves to be bound together, means for relatively displacing theseparate leaves so as to round the back of the book and to produce a corresponding concave shape along the front of the book, and a device for applying adhesive to the rounded back to secure the leaves together. The machine may further comprise means for applying lining material and longitudinal elements to form shoulders which can serve to retain the book body in a case to be applied thereto.

In accordance with an example of the method and machine for book binding according to the invention, the leaves or sheets of paper to be bound are gathered together and arranged to form the text-body of a book. The leaves are clamped and trimmed along the head and tail-edges, and also along the fore-edge and back edge thereof, to provide a trimmed text-body of a book of substantially parallelepipedal form.

The gathering of the leaves and the arranging of them in book-form, maybe effected by a sheet gathering conveyor operable to gather the separate sheets or leaves and to convey the leaves to a gathering trough in which the leaves are arranged substantially in bookform.

The book of leaves is then engaged between clamp plates, there being means for automatically tightening the clamp plates onto the book and for transporting the book from the gathering trough to trimming means where all four edges of the book are appropriately trimmed. The trimming means may comprise a guillotine device or separate knife elements. The knife elements may be arranged for the separate and successive trimming of all four edges of the book, the book being moved between the successive cutting stages so as to trim the head and tail edges and also the fore and back edges of the book. During the trimming operations, the book is tightly clamped and the movement of the book is controlled by appropriate stop or register devices so as to avoid size changing problems during the trimming operations.

To facilitate the relative movement of adjacent leaves of a book, following the square-trimming of the book and before the shaping or rounding of the fore and back edges, the leaves may be passed through a sheet displacement device. This device may comprise, for example, a trough corresponding in width substantially to the thickness of the book. and having side faces which define a generally sinusoidal or other nonstraight path so that, as the book of leaves passes along the channel, the latter will be displaced or separated slightly to overcome any tendency for the leaves to adhere together as a result of the trimming operations. The side members of the trough may be relatively fixed and the base thereof formed by a travelling belt. Alternatively, a mechanical or air-jet fanning or rippling device may be used to separate the leaves.

Moreover, the shaping of the fore and back edges may be effected by locating the separated leaves in a trough having along its base a relatively displaceable base member which is curved according to the curvature to be applied to the edges of the book, there being means for vibrating the various parts of the shaping device to cuase the leaves to conform to the curvature required along the fore and back edges.

The curving of the book edges before the application of the adhesive coating, ensures that adjacent leaves are properly secured together, parts of the adhesive coating being applied to adjacent marginal or edge portions of the leaves.

The next stage in the method is the conveyance of the trimmed book to a shaping station where the clamp means is released so that the leaves may be displaced relatively to one another in a direction laterally with respect to the fore and back edges, in such a manner as to provide a convex curving-along the back edge and corresponding concave shaping along the fore-edge. The clamping means is'then re-engaged to hold the book in the shaped condition. The leaves are then adhesively bonded one to another by the application of an adhesive coating to the convex back edge of the book. The adhesive may consist of polyvinyl acetate or hot melt. The adhesive coating may be appropriately reinforced as by the application to the coated backing edge, of a lining material such as mull, crash, manilla paper, newspaper or flexible plastic. This backing strip maybe drawn from a supply roll and applied to the book by means driven in time relationship with the conveyor which transports the book to and from the adhesive applying station.

Conveniently, the lining material may have secured to it, prior to its application to the back edge of the book, longitudinal elements extending parallel to the long edges of the strip and disposed on the side thereof to be applied to the book to form shoulders. These longitudinal elements are preferably located substantially along the hinging lines of the covers of the casing to be applied to the book. The elements may be formed of paper string.

The rounded back may, following the application of the lining material, have applied to it transverse head bands at the head and tail of the back edge, to provide a further reinforcement and also to complete the ap pearance of the trim at the ends of the book back.

The book is now ready to be completed by casing-in, in such a manner thatthe front and rear boards of the casing are hinged along lines substantially coincident with the longitudinal string elements applied to the lining material to support the book pages within the casmg.

For a better understanding of the invention and the method by which it may be performed, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view, partly in section, of a threadless binding and shoulder applying machine,

FIGS. 2 to 4 are views similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating the machine in different phases of operation,

FIG. is a view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating a modification, and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a book bound in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, comprises a manually operated machine for the threadless binding of a book having a text-body formed by a pile of sheets or leaves 1 of which the subsequently formed sheet edges 2 (FIG. 2) to be glued together, are to be contacted with a support 3 (FIG. 3) which is formed of a lining material as hereinbefore mentioned and which is coated with a layer of meltable adhesive (FIG. 3) or polyvinyl acetate adhesive (FIG. 5). It is assumed that the support 3 has previously been cut to the correct size externally of the threadless binding machine and has had applied to it longitudinally extending paper strings 4 to form shoulders on the completed book as hereinafter more fully described.

In FIG. 1 the pile of sheets 1 is clamped in position by a two-piece clamp 5 operable by drive mechanism 30 and arranged at a distance from a concave vibrating surface 6. The vibrating surface 6 constitutes a part of a hot plate 7 which comprises two relatively displaceable hot plate sections 8 and 9 operable by drive means 31. The vibrating surface 6 is profiled to give the desired shape to the finished book. The two hot plate sections 8 and 9 have vertical abutting ends 10 disposed substantially in a medial plane of the machine, i.e. midway between the work-engaging surfaces 11 of the clamping elements 5. In the illustrated embodiment, heating elements are disposed in a support plate 12 so that the hot plate 7 is heated indirectly during which process the two plates 7 and 12 directly contact each other. Alternatively, the hot plate 7 may be heated directly. The support plate is formed in its upper face with a profiled section 16 corresponding to the profile of the groove in the vibrating surface 6.

The support plate 12 is mounted on a table 13 which is moved up and down on rods 14 guided in bearings 15, so that the vibrating surface 6 may be moved toand-from the sheet edges 2 to be glued. In the construction illustrated the table is moved by drive means 27 comprising an eccentric 28 which is operated by a crank mechanism 29. The support plate 12 has a profile on the top surface thereof similar to the profile of the vibrating surface 6, to give the desired profile to the final book.

The individual sequential operations required to produce the adhesive bond of a book body are shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

In FIG. 1 the hot plate sections 8, 9 are shown in a normal starting position, the body of sheets 1 being supported by the clamps 5 above the hot plate.

In FIG. 2, the table 13 together with the support plate 12 and the hot plate sections 8, 9 are shown in a raised position. The clamps 5 are released and the table 13 is driven to impart up-and-down movement to the hot plate, this movement vibrating or jogging the sheets of the book body in such a manner that the lower edges of the sheets are caused to conform to the desired profile as determined by the profiled vibrating surface 6 of the hot plate. The clamps 5 are then operated to grip the body of sheets 1 and to clamp the body in position so that the sheet edges 2 to be glued together come to rest exactly on the vibrating surface 6. The hot plate sections 8, 9 are then heated, the heating being preferably continued throughout the operation.

In FIG. 3 the support 3 with the paper strings 4 attached thereto, is shown in position between the lower profiled backing edge of the body of leaves 1 and the vibrating surface 6, the latter having been lowered by operation of the crank mechanisms. The hot plate sections 8, 9 are now moved laterally apart from one another so as to be separated by a distance greater than the thickness of the book body, and the vibrating surface 6 together with the supporting assembly is elevated by means of the crank mechanism so that the body of the book is brought into contact with the support and adhesive 3, the assembly being raised further until the rounded section of the book body contacts the profiled section 16 of the support plate 12. The two hot-plate sections 8, 9 are then moved inwardly to compress the support and adhesive 3 into contact with the body of leaves or sheets 1. The hot-plate sections 8, 9 each have a recess 17 formed in the underside thereof and extending along the abutment face 10 of each section. The arrangement is such that during the pressing of the book-back against the profiled groove 16 in the support plate, and compression between the hot-plate sections 8, 9, the longitudinal string elements 4 of the support 3 will engage in the recesses 17 so as, during the final clamping operation, to produce the shoulders along opposite sides of the book-body adjacent the curved back 2 thereof.

In FIG. 6, the book body 1 is shown located within a case 20 having cover boards 21, 22 and a spine 23. The spine is provided at each side with an inwardly curved portion 24 which provides a lateral recess or cavity 25 extending along the spine and which provides also a hinge connection with the adjacent cover board so that the latter can hinge along the line 26. The elements 4 which are fixed to the book body, engage in the recesses or cavities 25 and cooperate with end papers which are pasted to the inside of the cover boards and to the adjacent sheets of the book body, in retaining the book body firmly within the case. The arrangement thus strengthens the book binding and serves to prevent forward sagging of the leaves of the book body, and thereby prolong the useful life and appearance of the binding. The binding serves to retain the rounding at the back and front of the book which facilitates handling of the book and prevents the front of the book becoming flat or convex in form, due to sagging of the leaves.

In the example described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings, the support comprises a hot-melt adhesive, the hot-plate sections 8, 9 being heated either before or after the lateral movement of those sections. The heating of the sections, may of course, be continued during part at least of the clamping operation, and

may be terminated automatically at the required point in the operating cycle depending, for example, on the characteristics of the adhesive.

If desired the method and apparatus may be modified to enable other types of adhesive to be used. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the apparatus is provided with brushes or spray nozzles 18, disposed along opposite sides of the medial plane of the machine below the clamps 5 and adapted after the back of the book-body has been curved and after the support 3 has been positioned as in FIG. 3, to direct a coating of appropriate adhesive onto the book-body. The machine of HG. 5 may be employed with polyvinyl acetate or the like adhesives.

The apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, are suitable for manual control but may be adapted for incorporation in a fully automatic threadless book binding machine.

We claim:

1. A method of book binding comprising the steps of arranging separate leaves in a body of book form for binding, supporting said body of leaves and relatively displacing the leaves so as to round the back of the body and to produce a corresponding concave shaping along the front of the body, arranging longitudinal elements along opposite sides of the book body adjacent the back thereof and adhesively securing said longitudinal elements in position to form shoulders at the opposite sides of the back of the body so that, when a case is applied to the book body, the shoulders co-operate in retaining the body in the case, and applying adhesive to the rounded back so as adhesively to secure together the separate leaves of the body.

2. A method of book binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal elements are secured in position by adhesive during the securing together of the leaves of the book body.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein during the formation of the book body, the leaves are gathered and clamped together, then trimmed along the edges thereof to provide a book body of substantially parallelepipedic form.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein following the trimming of the book body and before the rounding of the front and back edges thereof, the leaves are passed through a sheet displacement device thereby to displace the leaves to overcome any tendency of the leaves to adhere together as a result of the trimming operation.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein for the rounding of the back of the book body, the leaves are displaced relatively to one another by a jogging of the leaves to cause the back edges of the leaves to conform to the curvature of a concave face formed in a shaping member.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the leaves are adhesively secured together by applying to the rounded back edge of the book body, a support which carries the adhesive.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adhesive comprises a hot melt adhesive and wherein the adhesive is activated by the heating of hot plate members upon which the shaped book body rests during the application of the adhesive to the book body.

8. A book binding machine comprising means for supporting a book of separate leaves to be bound together, means for relatively displacing the separate leaves so as to round the back of the book and to pro duce a corresponding concave shape along the front of the book, means for arranging along opposite sides of the book body longitudinal elements which extend adjacent the back and which are arranged to form shoulders adapted to co-operate in retaining the book body within a case, and means for applying adhesive to the rounded back to secure the leaves together.

9. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 8, ineluding means for trimming the edges of the leaves to form a book body of substantially parallelepipedal form, and a device for relatively displacing the leaves in such a manner as to overcome any tendency of the leaves to adhere together as a result of the trimming operation.

10. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means for relatively displacing the separate leaves for rounding the back and front edges of the book body, comprises a shaping member formed with a curved shaping face conforming to the curvature required in said back and front edges, and means for jogging the leaves to cause the back edges thereof to engage and take up a position corresponding to the curvature of said shaping face.

11. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 10,

wherein the shaping member comprises a hot plate having two relatively movable sections, means for heating said hot plate sections, a clamping device for holding the leaves above the hot plate during a shaping operation, and mechanism for raising and lowering the hot plate relatively to the clamping device.

12. A book binding machine as claimed inclaim 11, including a support plate for the hot plate sections, said support plate being formed with a profiled part corresponding to the curved shaping face of the shaping member, mechanism for moving the hot plate sections laterally outwardly so that following the shaping of the back of a book body and the application of adhesive thereto, the hot plate sections can be moved into laterally outer positions to permit the back'of the book body to be engaged in the profiled part of the support plate, and the hot plate sections can then be moved laterally inwardly to compress the sides of the book body adjacent the back.

13. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 12,

wherein said hot plate sections are formed with cooperating recessed parts which, when said hot plate sections are disposed in their laterally outer positions, can receive the longitudinal elements for forming the case retaining shoulders and which upon inward movement of the hot plate sections, can press said longitudinal elements against the book body. 

1. A method of book binding comprising the steps of arranging separate leaves in a body of book form for binding, supporting said body of leaves and relatively displacing the leaves so as to round the back of the body aNd to produce a corresponding concave shaping along the front of the body, arranging longitudinal elements along opposite sides of the book body adjacent the back thereof and adhesively securing said longitudinal elements in position to form shoulders at the opposite sides of the back of the body so that, when a case is applied to the book body, the shoulders co-operate in retaining the body in the case, and applying adhesive to the rounded back so as adhesively to secure together the separate leaves of the body.
 2. A method of book binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal elements are secured in position by adhesive during the securing together of the leaves of the book body.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein during the formation of the book body, the leaves are gathered and clamped together, then trimmed along the edges thereof to provide a book body of substantially parallelepipedic form.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein following the trimming of the book body and before the rounding of the front and back edges thereof, the leaves are passed through a sheet displacement device thereby to displace the leaves to overcome any tendency of the leaves to adhere together as a result of the trimming operation.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein for the rounding of the back of the book body, the leaves are displaced relatively to one another by a jogging of the leaves to cause the back edges of the leaves to conform to the curvature of a concave face formed in a shaping member.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the leaves are adhesively secured together by applying to the rounded back edge of the book body, a support which carries the adhesive.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adhesive comprises a hot melt adhesive and wherein the adhesive is activated by the heating of hot plate members upon which the shaped book body rests during the application of the adhesive to the book body.
 8. A book binding machine comprising means for supporting a book of separate leaves to be bound together, means for relatively displacing the separate leaves so as to round the back of the book and to produce a corresponding concave shape along the front of the book, means for arranging along opposite sides of the book body longitudinal elements which extend adjacent the back and which are arranged to form shoulders adapted to co-operate in retaining the book body within a case, and means for applying adhesive to the rounded back to secure the leaves together.
 9. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 8, including means for trimming the edges of the leaves to form a book body of substantially parallelepipedal form, and a device for relatively displacing the leaves in such a manner as to overcome any tendency of the leaves to adhere together as a result of the trimming operation.
 10. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means for relatively displacing the separate leaves for rounding the back and front edges of the book body, comprises a shaping member formed with a curved shaping face conforming to the curvature required in said back and front edges, and means for jogging the leaves to cause the back edges thereof to engage and take up a position corresponding to the curvature of said shaping face.
 11. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the shaping member comprises a hot plate having two relatively movable sections, means for heating said hot plate sections, a clamping device for holding the leaves above the hot plate during a shaping operation, and mechanism for raising and lowering the hot plate relatively to the clamping device.
 12. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 11, including a support plate for the hot plate sections, said support plate being formed with a profiled part corresponding to the curved shaping face of the shaping member, mechanism for moving the hot plate sections laterally outwardly so that following the shaping of the back of a book body and the application of adhesive thereto, the hot plate sections can be moved into laterally outer positions to permit the back of the book body to be engaged in the profiled part of the support plate, and the hot plate sections can then be moved laterally inwardly to compress the sides of the book body adjacent the back.
 13. A book binding machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein said hot plate sections are formed with cooperating recessed parts which, when said hot plate sections are disposed in their laterally outer positions, can receive the longitudinal elements for forming the case retaining shoulders and which upon inward movement of the hot plate sections, can press said longitudinal elements against the book body. 